Stock markets have reacted badly to the worse than expected news on US trade policy. We favour a more conservative asset allocation in response – but it’s possible to be too gloomy.

When it comes to managing wealth, there is a big difference between the concepts of “risk” and “uncertainty”. Risk is deemed to be quantifiable in some way, allowing managers to construct portfolios with the right balance between assets and the right mix within those asset classes. At least then we might have some idea of the potential gains and losses to which clients are exposed.

Although returns over the past year have been at times hard won, and often made in defiance of a doom and gloom narrative about the state of the world, most investors can look back on some reasonable gains.

Subsiding inflation has allowed interest rates to fall – but are bond markets factoring in too much?

A widely expected change of government may bolster UK sentiment, while the US election is on a knife’s edge.

Will it be a case of the tortoise versus the hare, with last year’s winners taking a breather while the laggards catch up?

Pessimism about UK equities is widely held. If it’s based on misconceptions, this could be opening up an opportunity.

The fits and starts may not be over, but we’re looking forward to a more sustainable recovery beginning in 2024.

The darkest hour for economic indicators is still approaching; then comes the dawn.

What to do when markets and data seem full of conflicting messages